Morgan Stanley Boosts Ameren (NYSE:AEE) Price Target to $101.00

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.14% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on AEE. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.70.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $98.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $96.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.45. Ameren has a 1-year low of $69.39 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The company has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,901,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,729,000. Armis Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Ameren by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 25,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,233,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. It engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution business.